Wednesday, March 19, 2008

(IsraelNN.com) Rabbi Dov Lior of Hevron and Kiryat Arba, who heads the Yesha Rabbis' Council, is quoted as giving a religious opinion opposing the employment of Arabs. In an interview for the pamphlet "Our Land of Israel" which will be distributed in synagogues Saturday, Lior said: "Since there is mortal danger here, it is obvious that it is strictly forbidden to employ [Arabs] or to rent out houses to them in the Land of Israel.

"It is forbidden to employ them, not just in yeshivas but also in factories and hotels and everywhere," he reportedly decided. Lior justified Mercaz HaRav yeshiva's refusal to host Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, asking: "How can they accept a man who operates against our holy Torah and continues to lead the Nation of Israel to new dangers?"

What is interesting is that Shilo's rabbi, Rabbi Elhanan Bin-Nun was ask about Arab labor four years ago. He said that the official policy of the yishuv was that Arabs were not allowed into the yishuv.

At this same time there was an incident of a Jewish contractor using Arabs to build a new walkway. The resident who had hired the contractor admitted that he was in error, and committed to being more thorough in his investigations in the future.

One or two Palestinian Authority tags could still be seen parked at the new yishuv entrance. The owner of the vineyard and the hen house next to the yishuv, now inside the moved, main gate had been using Arab labor.

He complained that he could not find Jews willing to work for him in the vineyard. et the vineyard across the main road (#60), uses only Jewish labor.

Will he now finally stop using Arab labor?

The truth is that Shilo is one of the best yishuvim in this area. Very few yishuvim in Judea and Samaria forbid Arab workers.

We at the Avodah Ivrit Blog believe this is a matter of life and death. This is not a religious issue nor a political issue. It is a practical issue.

Will Ofra follow suit, and fire their Arabs finally? What about Sha'ar Binyamin and its main business, Rami Levy? Will it continue to keep its Arab workers? Is concerned with offending its Arab clientele from Ramallah?

Whether the Arab terrorist murderer of eight Merkaz Harav Yeshivah and Yeshivah High School students worked there or not is irrelevant. There is an increase of terror attacks perpetrated by Arabs with Israeli ID cards. The Hebrew University bombing of five and a half years ago and the attempting poisoning of customers at Cafe Rimon in Jerusalem are only two examples.

Why must we wait for more Arabs from within Israel's pre-1967 boundaries to strike? Why not prevent these attacks before they happen?

(IsraelNN.com) Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, considered a top Torah sage of the generation in the Hareidi-Religious community, issued a Jewish legal decision banning the employment of Arab workers by Jews according to the Yom Chadash daily.

The rabbi issued the decision at a meeting with several administrators of yeshivas in B’nei Brak. The administrators told the rabbi that they had under they employ an older Arab man who they do not suspect of any involvement in terrorism. The administrators decided, nonetheless to seek halachic (Jewish legal) guidance following reports that the terrorist who carried out the massacre at Jerusalem’s Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva had been hired as a driver on occasion.

“According to Jewish law, it is completely forbidden to hire Arabs, especially in yeshivas,” Rabbi Kanievsky said. “There is a concern of endangering lives.”

The rabbi continued, explaining, “After all, we are at war with them…and are there not Jews that can work and make a living?”

Asked later on if his words should be publicized, Rabbi Kanievsky said: “Certainly,” according to News First Class, investigative journalist Yoav Yitzchak's news site.

Rabbi Kanievsky went even further, saying that Jews should refrain from employing any non-Jews, not just Muslim Arabs, and instead grant livelihood to Jews, unless there exist huge disparity between the costs of the labor.

Rabbi Kanievsky is one of the most recognized authorities in Hareidi-religious society. He is the son of the Steipler Rebbe, Rabbi Yisrael Yaakov Kanievsky, and the son-in-law of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the leader of Lithuanian Hareidi Jewry.

Avoda Ivrit Hotline Set UpFor several years a revival of the concept of Avoda Ivrit – Jewish labor – has been taking place in the Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria regions – particularly in hilltop communities. Though a web site listing Jewish labor businesses was closed down after a law-suit from an Arab advocacy group funded by the New Israel Fund, a new hotline and email account has been set up to provide Avoda Ivrit solutions.

The hotline, for everything from gardeners, heavy equipment operators, painters, cement mixers and handymen to catering and restaurants, can be reached at: 1 599 588 588 or by emailing: mokedai@gmail.com.